The Ospreys and Wales wing beat off tough opposition from boxing world champion Joe Calzaghe and Olympic gold medal cyclist Nicole Cooke.
The Williams trophy cabinet for 2008 now totals no fewer than five major awards with the BBC statue joining the IRB trophy, the RBS Six Nations triple crown and Trophy and the EDF Energy Cup he lifted with the Ospreys – not to mention various man-of-the-match awards along the way and the James Bevan Cup awarded for the defeat of Australia in November.
Williams says the award crowns a particularly memorable year in rugby, but promises there is more to come from him, his Ospreys colleagues and his international team-mates in the season ahead.
“Every accolade is just as much for the players around me as it is for me, I just happen to be on the end of the moves scoring the tries, but it does mean a lot to get this kind of public recognition nonetheless,” said Williams.
“We have a tough season ahead of us with a Six Nations title to defend with Wales and the Heineken Cup still very much a target for the Ospreys, all culminating in a Lions tour at the end of the season which is obviously every players dream to be involved in.
“All I can do is continue to work hard on my game, I know I can get better, we are all learning all the time and trying to improve. I’m lucky in that I have a great bunch of players around me at both regional and international level and I owe everything to them as well as the coaches I have worked with.”
Williams, a diminutive back from the Amman Valley who started out his rugby career as a scrum-half and was famously criticised as being too small for rugby in his early days, has set the rugby world alight this year and was instrumental in Wales winning the RBS Six Nations Grand Slam, during which he became Wales’ all-time record try scorer.
